1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hydraulic turbines, and in particular to an electric discharge device for increasing the power output of a hydraulic turbine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Mechanical power can be derived from hydraulic turbines or water wheels. This mechanical power can be used directly, or it can be used to drive an electrical generator. The power output of the turbine is directly proportional to the head or water pressure by which it is driven. Conventional hydraulic turbines have utilized the gravitational energy available from water flowing from a high level to a lower level in descending natural water courses. Conventional hydraulic turbines have been characterized by high initial costs and extremely large physical size. Consequently, such installations have been concentrated near of large bodies of water.
The hydraulic turbine is a machine which converts the energy of an elevated water supply into mechanical energy of a rotating shaft. Most conventional water wheels utilize the gravity effect of the water directly, but all modern hydraulic turbines are a form of fluid dynamic machinery of the jet-and-vane type operating on the impulse or reaction principle and thus involves the conversion of pressure energy to kinetic energy.
The hydraulic turbine is rated according to its prime capacity, that is the amount of power produced by the turbine which is continuously available. The rated prime capacity of a given turbine may not, in some instances, be adequate to meet the demands of peak loading. This is true for small scale installations where the amount of head or water pressure is limited. In those small scale installations which are used to generate electrical power for household use, the speed of the generator must be maintained at an acceptable synchronous value. Mechanical arrangements including adjustable propeller blades and adjustable nozzles have been used to maintain synchronous speed.
In small scale installations, in which a hydraulic turbine is used to generate low power levels in the range of 100 h.p. or less because of the limited availability of water pressure, unless the load demands are carefully regulated, the output of such a turbine can easily be exceeded by peak loading. In such a limited water pressure situation, other means must be found for boosting the output of the turbine to meet peak loading demands.